1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water wheel impeller blade type electric power generating apparatus using a water stream, a sea water current or the like in, for example, a river or the sea to generate hydroelectric power.
2. Field of the Related Art
As the water wheel impeller blade type electric power generating apparatus, Patent Document 1 can be cited. This structure includes a rotating shaft for transmitting motive power to the power generator, a rotor fixed to this rotating shaft, and impeller blades which are provided on the outer periphery of this rotor for rotating the rotor by receiving a flow of fluid, and the rotating shaft is rotatably supported by a side plate of an apparatus frame body through a bearing. The impeller blades have a fluid receiving part disposed rotatably on the rotor and a stopper part shorter than this fluid receiving part, being formed in the shape of a letter L and disposed such that the fluid receiving part is on the side receiving a fluid pressure of the fluid passage and the stopper part maintains erection of the fluid receiving part.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-151117
Since the rotating shaft is rotatably supported by the side plate of the apparatus frame body through the bearing, weights of the rotor and the large number of impeller blades and the like provided on the rotor are applied to the bearing. Moreover, since the apparatus is installed in the water or seawater, the apparatus is made of a stainless material. That causes no problem if the rotor is small-sized, but if a rotating drum of the rotor has a diameter of approximately I in and a width of approximately 1.8 m and a length of the fluid receiving part of the impeller blade is approximately 0.4 m, for example, the weights of the rotor and the impeller blades are approximately 450 Kg, and this weight is applied to the bearing through the rotating shaft. Since a heavy load is applied to the bearing as above, there has been a problem that the life of the bearing is short.
An object of the present invention is to provide a water wheel impeller blade type electric power generating apparatus which can alleviate a burden on the bearing which supports the rotor, the impeller blades and the like and prolong the life of the bearing.